Online pathways for science education
As they race to keep up with technology-savvy youth, science educators
have a new set of tools at their disposal. The National Science Digital
Library, whose central office is based in UOP, is organizing much of
its vast collection into “pathways” arranged by discipline
or target audience. The concept helps NSDL to entrain the expertise
of more than 100 professional societies and other organizations whose
members serve as reference librarians for their specialties. “Pathways
allow us to be bridge builders,” says Kaye Howe, director of
the NSDL office. The pathways concept also enables the library to leverage
its NSF funding, while assuring teachers and other users that a set
of resources has been assembled in partnership with those who know
a field best. “We rely on the professional organizations to help
ensure the quality of our collections,” says Howe, one of NSDL’s
principal investigators with Dean Krafft (Cornell University) and Kate
Wittenberg (Columbia University).
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